Sgt. Vernon W. Martin
Sgt. Joshua Kirk
Posted on 10/09/2009 12:24:24 PM PDT by thouworm
“…the white flag of the Taliban is raised above Kamdesh”
On the day of President Obama’s glorious Nobel Appease Prize victory, a Taliban henchman gloats in Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Kamdesh siege...
The battle marked the largest loss of U.S. life in a single skirmish in more than a year. Besides the eight Americans slain, three Afghan soldiers and an estimated 100 insurgents died, according to NATO.
(Excerpt) Read more at michellemalkin.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2357594/posts
“RULES OF ENGAGEMENT REVISITED’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2346439/posts
“OBAMA’S RULES OF ENGAGEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN COSTING OUR TROOPS LIVES”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335891/posts
“THE RULES MURDERING OUR TROOPS”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2347085/posts
Then there is this:
“No Rush to Escalate (”war kills off great reform movements”)”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355050/posts
__________________________________________________________
It’s Barry’s ROE’s, his incompetance, and total lack of respect or appreciation for our Troops that’s killing their morale. But then again, Barry knows EXACTLY what he is doing doesn’t he?!
http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/official_texts/Tactical_Directive_090706.pdf
“...I recognize that the carefully controlled and disciplined employment of force entails risks to our troops...”
“...The Taliban cannot militarily defeat us - but we can defeat ourselves...”
This is all that comes to my mind when I read that:
“We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We’ve lost today,” Marine Maj. Kevin Williams, 37, said through his translator to his Afghan counterpart, responding to the latter’s repeated demands for helicopters.
“’We’re pinned down:’ 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335142/posts
NOW, can we PLEASE have some Troop-centered and protecting ROE’s and some clear objectives and strategies BARRY!!!!
Heroes.
Real hearoes.
RIP
I stated this on the Taliban thread last night:
“I’m beginning to think Obama’s strategy was to pull out of Iraq and let it eventually deteriorate without the proper follow through. Taking away any gains from “Bush’s War”. Then put us in Afghanistan knowing he wasn’t committed and wouldn’t back our troops with the ability to win. It appears like sabotage at this point with the ROE’s and total lack of objective or strategy.
And now he shows favoritism to the Talaban.”
TY 444Flyer for posting the photos of our soldiers who fought so bravely and lived to protect our freedom. It hurts to see their faces and know their President feels nothing, absolutely nothing.
Linked thread:
Camp Keating is Kamdesh
SGT Daddy’s Story (military wife’s blog-aftermath of horrific Afghanistan attack)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2358598/posts
Ping
BUMP
Many were fathers. All were patriots. They were stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. They leave behind grieving wives, girlfriends, young children, family, and friends. Remember their names. Remember their heroism.
. 'We're sitting ducks' soldiers told reporter on 2006 visit.
The remote base in northern Afghanistan where eight U.S. soldiers were killed this weekend in a deadly battle was well-known inside the military as extremely vulnerable to attack since the day it opened in 2006, according to U.S. soldiers and government officials familiar with the area.
When a reporter visited the base a few months after it opened, soldiers stationed in Kamdesh complained the base's location low in a valley made most missions in the area difficult. "We're primarily sitting ducks," said one soldier at the time. Known as Camp Keating, the outpost was "not meant for engagements," said one senior State Department official assigned to Afghanistan, and brings "a sad and terrible conclusion" to a three-year effort to secure roads and connect the Nuristan province to the central government in Kabul.
The boulder strewn road that led into the valley was referred to by U.S. soldiers stationed there as "Ambush Alley." In addition to the eight dead Americans, at least two Afghan Army officers were killed, with as many as a dozen Afghan National Policemen missing, according to military and Afghan officials. The base, located less than 10 miles from the Pakistan border and nestled in the Hindu Kush mountains, was attacked almost every day for the first two months it was opened, hit by a constant stream of rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. By the third or fourth month of the base's existence, resupply had been limited to nighttime helicopter flights because the daytime left helicopters and road convoys too exposed to insurgent attacks. That remained true through the weekend.
The base had several near-misses with enemy fire over the years. In 2006, all daytime helicopter flights landing at the valley floor were cancelled when an American Blackhawk was nearly hit with an incoming rocket as it was taking off. After the incident, helicopters were banned from landing anywhere but an observation post some three hours' walk above the base on a nearby ridgeline. Even then, helicopters filled with troops or equipment were rushed during offloading, as pilots were keen to take off before drawing hostile fire.
And like many other remote and rural parts of Afghanistan, the local population had begun souring on the American presence after airstrikes had hit civilians in the neighboring villages.
Deployment into Nuristan
The initial military goal was to establish the base as a one of 13 Provincial Reconstruction Teams set up throughout Afghanistan to help with reconstruction projects, civil affairs and basic safety for the local population. Within a year, the PRT had been moved to a safer, more hospitable base in the western section of the province.
Camp Keating, along with two other outposts near the border, was then intended to help patrol and oversee the stretch of the Pakistan border. U.S. officials were concerned that the nearby mountain passes were being used by militants to infiltrate Afghanistan and set up for attacks.
American officials were often divided over whether the U.S. effort in the mountainous region could be sustained.
According to an American who has consulted with U.S. forces on their deployment into Nuristan, the effort in the north can only be seen as a failure.
(snip) But on Saturday, a force of as many as 300 insurgents attacked the vulnerable base in what the military has termed a "complex" attack that began in a neighboring village mosque. According to an Afghan translator for American forces in Nuristan, the village mosque was used to store the weapons and ammunition used in the attack. The rules of engagement generally prevent U.S. forces from searching or attacking Afghan mosques.
According to the Afghan translator, most of the insurgents were local. Eastern Nuristan has long been filled by the insurgent group led by former mujahedeen leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, called Hezb-e-Islami. U.S. officials believe that Hekmatyar is hiding in Pakistan, and helps coordinate insurgent attacks throughout eastern Afghanistan.
http://abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=8759747&pid=4380645
SHHHHHH! You might upset king B.O. on his glory day.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”~~Ronald Reagan
“US FEELS TALIBAN POSES LESSER THREAT THAN AL-QAEDA”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2358970/posts
Thanks. I have posted it.
??? That’s not funny, even in a joke.
Thank you 444, disturbing how the war is turning, it’s really strange, and very dangerous. May God bless and protect our men and women in uniform, actually not only ours, but those who are fighting side by side with our troops.
AMEN!
Thanks for that post, 444Flyer. They fought valiantly for their and their brothers’ lives. May their families find strength as they struggle with their grief.
Cross-linking threads:
Raw Video:Camp Keating Interviews (12 hr. battle, soldiers describe the attacks) Amazing HEROES!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360052/posts
The battle of COP Keating: an earwitness account -MUST read
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360238/posts
Officials: Obama advisers are downplaying Afghan dangers (MUST READ)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360345/posts
Battle at Ganjgal (less than a month prior to Kamdesh/Keating) -— the fruits of ROE; a shocking report
Posted on Tuesday, September 8, 2009
‘We’re pinned down:’ 4 U.S. Marines die in Afghan ambush
U.S. commanders, citing new rules to avoid civilian casualties, rejected repeated calls to unleash artillery rounds at attackers dug into the slopes and tree lines — despite being told repeatedly that they weren’t near the village.
“We are pinned down. We are running low on ammo. We have no air. We’ve lost today,” Marine Maj. Kevin Williams, 37, said through his translator to his Afghan counterpart, responding to the latter’s repeated demands for helicopters.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2335142/posts
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